INTERACT Tools
INTERACT offers a comprehensive toolkit to understand impacts of urban form changes on health. Our tools can be tailored to a variety of interventions, health outcomes and geographies.
Concept mapping
Prior to evaluating an intervention, we use concept mapping to characterize the context for changes in urban form. Using an interactive online platform to facilitate easy participation, INTERACT captures and translates data on the perceptions of diverse stakeholders, helping to drive successful planning and implementation of urban form interventions by uncovering priorities, challenges, opportunities, and outcomes that matter most to cities and their partners.
INTERACT Health Questionnaire
A series of questions appear across sites and make up the core INTERACT Health Questionnaire. They focus on INTERACT’s key health outcomes: physical activity, social participation, and well-being. The core questionnaire also includes questions on socio-demographic data, general health, use of activity monitors, housing type, and neighbourhood.
In addition to core questions, site-specific questions are adapted to the intervention studied. To view all questions asked in a city, sort questions by clicking on the arrow to the right of the city name in the data dictionary.
INTERACT VERITAS Questionnaire
Ethica App
Ethica is a free smartphone application, which collects GPS and accelerometry data. These data allow us to measure location-based physical activity, infer transportation mode and measure well-being using ecological momentary assessment.
SenseDoc
The SenseDoc is a research grade multisensor device used for mobility (GPS) and physical activity (accelerometer) tracking. These data are collected continuously and allow us to measure location-based physical activity and infer transportation mode.
Qualitative interviews
INTERACT uses mixed methods to draw a more complete portrait of observed changes. Go-along sessions, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews help to deepen our understanding of the motivations behind the behaviors identified with the quantitative tools.
GIS Layer Catalogue
In order to link urban interventions to population health and evaluate their impact, baseline data and regular updates are needed. Several data sources can be used for this; some are specific to each INTERACT site while others provide national or provincial data sets.
Become an INTERACT city
Interested in using these tools? Contact us to learn more on how to become an INTERACT city.